Southland residents concerned as more storms move in over weekend
Laurel Canyon residents are among the many residents concerned with more rain expected over the weekend, after the Southland was already saturated by a number of storms in recent weeks, bringing landslides and flooding along with.
With so many homes perched high on the hills, many residents were busy preparing for Saturday's rainstorm.
Jimmy Duval is one of those gearing for the heavy rainfall, clearing the driveway of his Studio City home of the debris that was left by last week's storm.
"We didn't get hit too bad, but cleaning debris, some mud got into the yard," Duval said. "Hoping this weekend isn't as bad as the last one."
Fredonia Drive is one of the many places to get hit by mudslides, where some mud was up to five-feet deep, trapping cars and blocking residents from leaving their homes.
"I think our biggest fear around here with this upcoming storm is we still have a lot of loose soil — there could be more mudslides, there could be more blockages, more floods," Duval said.
Just a few miles away, Mulholland Drive suffered considerable damage when a portion of land under the road gave way. Los Angeles Department of Public Works crews are still busy working to repair that damage, covering the area with plastic sheeting in hopes of preventing more land from crumbling during the rain.
Crews have been busy all week clearing mud across the Southland, taking extra steps to prevent a repeat of events by clearing storm drains and lining streets in problem areas with sandbags.
Sarah Hunt and her sons were also busy Friday, shoring up their backyard which backs up to a hillside.
"My sons and I have been trying to divert the water that we're expecting in the back," she said. "We've been building, not dams, but little stone walls, in a way that the water will slow, hopefully."
The first storm is expected to hit the area early Saturday morning, before a second storm moves in late Sunday evening, which will bring more heavy rainfall on Monday.
